Florida Homeowner Rory Atwood Killed Family of Four, Burned Bodies in Fire Pit

A Florida homeowner shot and killed a family of four with young children and burned their remains in the fireplace of the home they shared, police said Tuesday.

Rory Atwood, 25, allegedly admitted to slaughtering the “visiting” family – which included children aged 5 and 6 – after arguing with the parents, with whom he had been friends since high school.

“If there was no evil in this world, we would not need to pray so much. And when I talk about this story today, you'll hear about the bad,” Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters.

Atwood initially denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the Zilliot family, which included Rain Mancini, 26; Phillip Zilliot II, 25; and their young children Karma and Phillip III, ages 6 and 5, respectively, Nocco said.

The family, who had been staying at Atwood's Hudson home, was reported missing Thursday by Mancini's mother after the mother of two failed to maintain their daily communications.

Atwood, himself a father, allowed investigators to search the property that same day, but detectives did not notice anything unusual other than the backyard fire pit which was “actively smoldering and smoking,” the criminal complaint states .

The next day, a friend of Atwood's told police that the landlord had called him the night before and admitted to “killing his roommates and their children,” the document states.

Investigators returned to the property with cadaver dogs, which reportedly removed “small skeletal remains,” soft tissue and two human vertebrae from the home.

The back patio was also permeated with a strong smell of chlorine.

Atwood – who initially claimed to have evicted them earlier for non-payment of rent – ​​allegedly gave in and confessed to killing the family.

According to his account, Zilliot II and Mancini burst into the house Wednesday evening, with both parents brandishing knives.

Zilliot II attempted to use a knife on Atwood, his high school friend, but resorted to punching him when Atwood disarmed him, the accused killer claimed.

The homeowner snapped when he saw Mancini use his knife to “shove” his own 4-year-old daughter in the throat, he told detectives.

They fought over the knives and a gun Zilliot II allegedly brought, with Atwood eventually taking control and shooting his two former friends, according to court documents.

He did not reveal where the victims' children were during the fight, but told police he believed the parents killed their children. Atwood then backtracked and said the bodies of little Karma and Phillip were also in the home, but did not admit to killing them.

That's when Atwood used his “adrenaline” to drag the bodies of Zilliot II and Mancini to the fire pit and into the flames he claims to have started.

Investigators are still working to connect the family to the bodies found at the scene, but charged Atwood in their deaths based on her testimony, Nocco said.

Atwood pleaded not guilty Monday and is being held without bond, according to court records.